Reducing Gender Inequality in the Workplace

This assignment explores the issue of gender inequality in the workplace, discussing its causes, effects, and implications. It also presents strategies for reducing discrimination and promoting equality, such as training programs, policies, and cultural changes. The assignment is based on a review of relevant literature and online resources, providing a comprehensive overview of the topic.

A Critical Analysis Of
Gender and Ethnicity

Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
B. Research Topic And Questions..........................................................................................1
C. Research Aim and Objectives............................................................................................2
D. Literature Review..............................................................................................................2
E. Intended Methodologies.....................................................................................................5
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................6
APPENDIX......................................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Gender and ethnicity in the workplace generally affects the working environment of the
any organisation. Gender inequality is not giving equal rights and opportunities to each and
every employee in the organisation. This means differentiating between males and females by
not giving them appropriate job opportunities and chances to grow in the organisation. This
situations directly affects the performance of the employee because they get demotivated at the
workplace. Inequality is generally done to the females working in the organisation. The women
or female at the workplace are less valued because of the stereotypes which are there in the
minds of the individuals. The discrimination is also done on the basis of colour, race, caste, creed
in the organisation. It is seen that the females in the workplace are not given equal promotion as
compared to the male employee in the organisation. Due to this the female employee gets
demotivated which resulted into increase in absenteeism and employee turnover. The skills and
knowledge of workforce also decreases as because of this reason employee are not willing to
work in the systematic and coordinated manner(Bobbitt-Zeher, 2011). It is very much essential
for the organisations to completely ban such activities. As this directly result into decrease in
brand image of the company and also affects the sale, probability and performance of the
organisation in the external environment. This is because of the internal environment is not
managed properly than the external working of the organisation is automagically influenced. The
organisation of UK which is involved in such activities is ASDA which is a supermarket retailer.
The organisation was established in 1949. The management of the organisation was not giving
equal rights to the female employees working in this stores. Their paying structure was not equal
to the male employee in the organisation. This report will cover the various challenges which are
faced by the females in the organisation due to ethnicity(Mühlau, 2011).
B. Research Topic And Questions.
Research Topic-
“To critical analysis of how gender and ethnicity affect an individual progression within
the workplace”. A study on ASDA.
Research Question-
 What are the concepts of gender and ethnicity of individual within the ASDA?
 What are the challenges faced after gender inequality and ethnicity?
1

 What are the effects of gender and ethnicity on the progression of the individual?
 What are the ways through which gender and ethnicity can be minimised?
C. Research Aim and Objectives
Research Aim-
“To critical analysis of how gender and ethnicity affect an individual progression within
the workplace”. A study on ASDA.
Research Objectives-
 To know the concepts of gender and ethnicity of individual within the ASDA.
 To analyse the challenges faced after gender inequality and ethnicity.
 To evaluate the effects of gender and ethnicity on the progression of the individual.
 To know the ways through which gender and ethnicity can be minimised.
D. Literature Review
Concepts of gender and ethnicity
As per the views of Joan Wallach Scott, 2018 Gender and ethnicity is the global issue for
various organisations in the international and domestic market. The same issue is also faced by
ASDA as the organisation is involved in various gender and ethnicity among the individuals.
Gender and politics in the organisation is inter related with one another. As the individuals
belonging from different gender group witness different political environment in the
organisation. Gender is a class of various different individuals which falls in the category of
males and females. Whereas ethnicity is belongingness from some social group. This means
individual in the organisation belong from various social group which has different culture and
tradition. The management of the organisation makes different plans and strategies for different
individuals in the organisation. The individuals are either male or female. So this means ASDA
makes different plans for its female and male employees.
According to John law, 2018 gender discrimination is the law which is helps the
individuals in taking care of their rights and duties. The individuals working in the organisation
must get equal rights and responsibilities in the organisation. If this is not than individual has the
right to take legal action against the superior and organisation in which the individual is currently
working. It is the duty of every organisation to consider every employee as equal. As the
employee's directly helps in achieving the goals and objectives of the organisation. In the
absence of gender discrimination the females in the organisation will be able to achieve their
2

targeted goals in the effective and efficient manner. If the employee are not satisfied with the
working strategies of the management related to the gender discrimination than employee's are
free to take appropriate actions against such activities of the organisation (Gender
Discrimination. 2019).
According to Whitten and Lublin, 2017 Ethnic discrimination is the national or religious
group from which the individual belong. The ethnicity of the individual in the organisation can
be seen by the outfit or language of the individual. But individuals ethnicity can be changed over
time. The discrimination related to ethnicity in the organisation is generally of various types and
forms. This generally takes place when the individual is not treated properly as compared to
other employee's in the organisation. This type of discrimination is considered unfair and illegal
as the cultural values, tradition and language of the individual is not respected by the
management of the organisation as well as colleagues. Due to this type of discrimination the
employees will not be comfortable in working in a desirable manner (What is Ethnic
Discrimination in the Workplace, 2017).
The challenges faced after gender inequality and ethnicity
As per the views Maura Cheeks, 2018 there are various challenges which are faced by the
individuals after inequality and ethnicity. The some among the challenges are the work of the
individual will be judged, less opportunities are given as compared to other colleagues,
individuals are forced to work in a unhealthy work environment and the paying structure in also
low (How Black Women Describe Navigating Race and Gender in the Workplace, 2018).
According to Bina Agarwal, 2018 the challenges faced by the individuals in the
organisation directly lead to demotivation as the employee not longer likes to work properly in
the organisation. Inequality and ethnicity also affects the mental health of the individual because
the person gets disturbed. As the discrimination is being done on the basis of individuals
language and culture. There are adverse impact of the gender inequality and ethnicity (The
challenge of gender inequality, 2018).
According to Julie Wilson, 2019 There are various challenges which can be faced by the
employee if they are having the issues related to gender inequality in the organisation. Gender
and ethnicity is usually done to the females in the organisation. Due to this becomes difficult for
them to earn their living in the proper manner. Some of the major challenges are females get
unequal income pay, they also faces problems of harassment, less promotion is given to the
3

female employees of the organisation and employee's also face racism in the workplace (5 Top
Issues Fueling Gender Inequality in the Workplace, 2019).
The effects of gender and ethnicity on the progression of the individual
As per the views of Kimberlee Leonard, 2019 The effects of gender and ethnicity on the
progression is very negative this is because the individual in the organisation is not able to
achieve the goals in the systematic and desirable manner. The various effects of gender and
ethnicity are the health of the individual is affected, the morale is also decreased and
performance decreases. All these factors directly leads to hindrances in the progression of the
individual at the workplace (The Effects of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace, 2019).
According to Paul Trevino, 2018 the effects of gender and ethnicity in the progression of
the individual is the stress level increases and due to this employee is not able to perform better.
The person is also not satisfied with the job and responsibilities given at the workplace. Due to
this individual will not be able to achieve the desired goals and target and will also not be able to
progress in the organisation. As every activity will be not be coordinated in the appropriate
manner (The Effects of Gender Disparity Ripple Through An Organization, 2018).
The ways through which gender and ethnicity can be minimised
According to Brian Osborne, 2013 there are five ways which can be used by the
management of the organisation for reducing or minimising gender and ethnicity. The various
ways are- all employee's in the organisation must be treated equally, the employee or employer
who is involved in such activities can be removed from the job, proper training and development
programmes can be given to the individual, appropriate polices can be formed for protecting the
rights of the individual,appropriate and skilled individuals needs to be hired in the organisation
(5 Ways to Reduce Discrimination In Your Workplace, 2018).
According to Joanna and Weekes , 2017 the gender and ethnicity in the organisation can
be minimised by using 8 different ways which are as follows- proper education to the workforce
can be given, encouragement of the workers must be done, the management must have proper
evidence about the activities, such issue must be solved in the confidential manner, proper
policies can be made, measures regarding the discrimination must be given to the employee's,
new and innovative polices must be made for improving the condition (8 ways to prevent
discrimination in your workplace, 2017).
4

E. Intended Methodologies
The research used in this will be of two types which are primary and secondary research.
Primary Research- Primary research is the method in which data is generally collected
with the help of questionnaire. As in this the data will be directly gathered from the respondents
and their views and ideas will be taken into consideration(Peterson, 2011) This type of research
is most suitable research as the results are more accurate because it is done in the systematic
manner.
Secondary Research- In this the data is generally collected from various other sources.
As in this research the data is collected with the help of literature review. The views and ideas of
various researcher can be known with the help of this method. In this the data is gathered from
various other sources (Ridgeway, 2011.).
CONCLUSION
From the above data it has been concluded that organisations must focus on making
better plans for reducing the gender and ethnicity. As if this is not done conflicts and problems
will be increased. The employee's in the organisation will get demotivated and may also leave
the job because of the gender and ethnicity. The main causes behind such issue must be known
by the organisation so that new and innovative ideas can be used to overcome such problems.
Employee's can also be given training and development for the motivating in the appropriate
manner. It is very necessary for the organisation to know the need, demand, culture and values of
the individuals working in the organisation. If it is not done the employee's will not be satisfied
from the work and responsibilities.
5

REFERENCES
Books and Journals
Bobbitt-Zeher, D., 2011. Gender discrimination at work: Connecting gender stereotypes,
institutional policies, and gender composition of workplace. Gender & Society. 25(6).
pp.764-786.
Mühlau, P., 2011. Gender inequality and job quality in Europe. management revue, pp.114-131.
Peterson, H., 2011. The gender mix policy–addressing gender inequality in higher education
management. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. 33(6). pp.619-628.
Ridgeway, C.L., 2011.Framed by gender: How gender inequality persists in the modern world.
Oxford University Press.
Online
5 Top Issues Fueling Gender Inequality in the Workplace. 2019. Global Business Environment.
[Online]. Available through:<https://www.asyousow.org/blog/gender-equality-
workplace-issues>.
5 Ways to Reduce Discrimination In Your Workplace. 2018. Global Business Environment.
[Online]. Available through:<https://www.justifacts.com/resources/5-ways-to-reduce-
workplace-discrimination/>.
8 ways to prevent discrimination in your workplace. 2017. Global Business Environment.
[Online]. Available through:<https://www.healthandsafetyhandbook.com.au/8-ways-to-
prevent-discrimination-in-your-workplace/>.
Gender Discrimination. 2019. Global Business Environment. [Online]. Available
through:<https://civilrights.findlaw.com/discrimination/gender-discrimination.html>.
How Black Women Describe Navigating Race and Gender in the Workplace. 2018. Global
Business Environment. [Online]. Available through:<https://hbr.org/2018/03/how-
black-women-describe-navigating-race-and-gender-in-the-workplace>.
JOAN WALLACH SCOTT. 2018. Concept of gender ethnicity. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.ias.edu/ideas/scott-gender-inequality>
The challenge of gender inequality. 2018. Global Business Environment. [Online]. Available
through:<https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40888-018-0092-8>.
The Effects of Gender Discrimination in the Workplace. 2019. Global Business Environment.
[Online]. Available through:<https://smallbusiness.chron.com/effects-gender-
discrimination-workplace-2860.html>.
The Effects of Gender Disparity Ripple Through An Organization. 2018. Global Business
Environment. [Online]. Available through:<https://www.tlnt.com/the-effects-of-gender-
disparity-ripple-through-an-organization/>.
What is Ethnic Discrimination in the Workplace?. 2017. Global Business Environment. [Online].
Available through:<https://www.toronto-employmentlawyer.com/ethnic-discrimination-
workplace/>.
6

APPENDIX
Gantt Chart:
7